
■hi 




014 571 638 A 



Conservation Resources 
Lig-Free® Type 1 
Ph 8.5, Buffered 







N THE FOOTSTEPS 
OF CADILLAC.,.. 



BY C. M. BURTON. 



•r 




j. ANTOINE DE LA MOTHE 4. 
4. CADILLAC. 4. 



DETROIT: 
WoLVERiNF, Printing Co. 

18i)9 



m.-. 






2?459 



fll3 






...IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CADILLAC... 






An attempt to follow in the foot- 
steps of Antoine de LaMothe Cadillac, 
the past summer, has presented to me 
many objects of interest and has 
taught me much that I did not before 
know concerning the founder of the 
city of Detroit. 

Cadillac came to Mackinac (then 
Michlllimackinac) as its commandant in 
1694, and remained in charge of that 
post for three years. He then return- 
ed to Quebec and ultimately to Paris 
where, in the year 1700, he obtained 
permission to found the city of De- 
troit. He was well qualified for this 
task from his previous acquaintance 
with the country; and from his tem- 
perament and natural ability no better 
person could have been chosen to found 
a colony in the west. There was, up 
to this time, no French colony further 
west than Montreal, for all the west- 
ern posts were military or religious es- 
tablishments. 

The great object in founding a col- 
ony was to establish something perma- 
nent that should serve as a protection 
for the French traders, and the mis- 
sionaries among the Indians, and which 
would prevent the encroachments of 
the English on the territory which 
France claimed, but the boundaries of 
which were not well defined then and 
which were, in fact, never officially 
designated. 

Although many explorers and trav- 
elers had passed through the Lakes 
Ontario and Erie and around the falls 
of Niagara, before the year 1701, and 
that pathway to the northwest was' 
fairly well known, Cadillac was'' di- 
rected to take the Ottawa route rather 
than that of the lakes, on account of 
the hostility of the Iroquois Indians', 
who, at this time, were at war with 



the French. The Ottawa route, so-call- 
ed, was up the Ottawa river from Mon- 
treal nearly to its source, thence 
across the long portage to Lake Nipis- 
sing, thence through Frenchman's riv- 
er to the Georgian bay and, coasting 
the bay, in a southerly and westerly 
direction to Lake Huron, the River St. 
Clair, and so finally to the Detroit 
river. This course was long and tedi- 
ous, for there were some 30 portages 
where the canoes and the luggage of 
the company had to be carried on the 
shoulders of the oarsmen and voyageurs 
but it was the route that had been 
traversed for many years by all those 
Frenchmen who had penetrated into 
the upper country. 

My desire was to go to Mackinac and 
by easy stages reverse the footsteps 
of these voyageurs and pass through 
the Georgian bay, up Frenchman's river, 
through Lake Nipissing and down th» 
Ottawa river to Montreal, but the lim- 
ited time at my disposal would not 
permit a trip of this duration, and I 
planned a route more in consonance 
with that of established travel through 
the lakes and down the St. Lawrence. 

The first object of real interest, as 
connected with Cadillac, is the Wel- 
land canal. Shortly after Cadillac had 
established Detroit, a peace with the 
Iroquois was entered into and the path- 
way around the falls of Niagara was 
opened for the second and all the suc- 
ceeding trips to Detroit, and it is not 
recorded that the Ottawa route was 
thereafter ever used for those who 
came so far south as Detroit. 

Cadillac's Foresisbt. 

In .one of the earliest of Cadillac's re- 
ports, he^adyocates the building of a 
canal aroUnd'^Nlagara falls. This was 
an extraordinary display of foresight. 
There had. been, a few years before 
this, a sail vessel, the Griffon, on Lake 
Erie, but it was wrecked the same 



..■n' 




year it was built and no other sail 
vessel was ever launched by the French 
on the upper lakes, nor was there any 
vessel of considerable size floated on 
these waters until some years after 
British occupation. 

The Welland canal of today must 
have been as far beyond the concep- 
tion of Cadillac in 1702 as the vessels 
of today exceed in size the Griffon 
that LaSalle launched near Buffalo in 
1679. 

This magnificent canal is a feat of 
engineering wonderful to the people 
of today, and I thought, as I wan- 
dered along its massive stone basins 
and locks, what the surprise of Cadil- 
lac would be if he could be, for an 
instant, permitted to see carried into 
effect his suggestions or plans of two 
centuries ago. 

After passing through this canal our 
boat next went to Toronto and thence 
to Oswego. Both of these places are 
full of historic interest but not that 
of the subject 1 was investigating. The 
beautiful scenery of the Thousand 
islands is nearly as wild as it was in 
Cadillac's time, but the hand of man 
has changed the aspects of many 
islands and turned their barrenness 
and wildness Into bowers of beauty. 
The rapids of the St. Lawrence com- 
mence a short distance below Ogdens- 
burg and continue to Montreal. 

These rapids are in no manner 
changed from Cadillac's time and are 
just as dangerous now as when the 
Frenchmen and Indians of his day 
braved the waves in their frail canoes. 
Accidents frequently happened; canoes 
were upset and their occupants were 
drowned or barely escaped with their 
lives; but the people continued to pass 
down the river by that route rather 
than walk along the shore and let 
their boats float at the end of long 
ropes, which were occasionally used 
for that purpose. 

The streets of Montreal are an evi- 
dence of the French ideas of two cen- 
turies ago. They are narrow, 
straight and short. The town of Ville 
Marie, founded by Maisonneuve in 
1642, is still to be seen in the city of 
Montreal of today, for the streets are 
there as they were occupied by those 
old French habitans, and some of the 
buildings still remain. 

Montreal is all stone and brick and 
the massive stone buildings of the 



later times are out of sorts with the 
narrow streets on which they are 
erected. 

Church. Attended by Detroit's 
Founder. 

Here, on St. Paul street, near the 
river, stands Bonsecour church, the 
oldest church in Montreal, and here 
Cadillac and his wife and family went 
to mass many times, for it was then 
the only church in Montreal, and 
Cadillac was a devout catholic. 

The tablet on the church informs ua 
that the present structure is modem, 
compared with Cadillac's time, but 
that its foundation antedates Detroit 
several years. 

I took a copy of the inscription, 
which is as follows: 

N. D. Bonsecour. 
Commencee 1667. Incendiee 175*. 

Keconstrulte 1772. Rttitoreo 1888. 

The Numismatic and Antiquariaii 
Society of Montreal, some years since, 
hunted up the points of historical in- 
terest in the city and erected tablets 
to indicate the important event or loca- 
tion of the place. These tablets are 
fastened up in many places in the 
older French portion of the city. Some 
of them are of interest to the people 
of Detroit as indicating some matters 
in which our city took a part. As an 
instance, at the northwest corner of 
McGill and Notre Dame streets is the 
following inscription: 

Recollets Gate. 

By this gate 

Amherst took possession. 

8 September 1760. 



Gen. Hull, U. S. Army, 

25 officers, 350 men. entered 

Prisoners of War, 

10 September 1812. 

An inscription of more interest to 

me was that afflxed at the northwest 

corner of St. Lambert and Notre Dame 

streets, as follows: 

In 1694 
Here stood the house of 

LaMothe Cadillac, 
The Founder of Detroit. 

This statement Is not exactly true, 
but it is supported by facts sufHcient 
to make the assertion reasonably cor- 
rect. Cadillac did not live In Mon- 
treal in 1694, but was stationed at 
Michillimackinac. His wife remained 
in Montreal until his return there in 



1697. He did not own any dwelling, at 
that time, in Montreal, nor have I 
been able to find that he ever owned 
one there. As commandant at Mack- 
inac he was permitted to engage in 
trade there and his wife acted as his 
agent in Montreal in purchasing goods 
and forwarding them to him for sale 
to the Indians or traders. At Mon- 
treal lived LaMothe Luclere, a name- 
sake and possibly a relative of Cad- 
illac. This man was an army officer 
of some prominence who had, a few 
year before this, at the request of the 
French government, built a fort at 
Niagara. He was also governor of 
Montreal in 1669 and 1670. LaMothe 
Luclere lived on Notre Dame street 
in Montreal and Madam Therese 
Guyon (wife of Cadillac) made her 
home with him during the absence of 
her husband at Mackinac. I have not 
discovered anything to indicate that 
LaMothe Cadillac and LaMothe Lu- 
clere were in any way related, but 
the Identity of the family name, La- 
Mothe, indicates that they had some 
cornection with each other. "What lit- 
tle we know of the life of Madam 
Cadillac indicates that she was a ca- 
pable and energetic business woman 
as well as a brave and affectionate 
wife. I have copies of many contracts, 
for various purposes, entered into by 
her for promoting the interest of her 
husband, and she borrowed money for 
him and purchased goods to send to 
him on many occasions. I do not 
know what authority the society had 
for placing this placard at the corner 
of St. Lambert street, but probably it 
was the home of LaMothe Luclere, 
and that Cadillac and his wife tem- 
porarily lived there. That he once 
occupied It made it an object of in- 
terest. 
Valuable DacTiinents for Detroit. 

There are many other Inscriptions 
of local interest; some in French and 
others in English, but no others of 
local Interest to Detroit, except as 
they pertain to the hlstoiy of the 
northwest. 

I visited the Palais de Justice and 
was permitted to inspect and read the 
archives in the basement of this great 
building. Here are collected and pre- 
served the musty records of two cen- 



turies and a half of Canadian history. 
I have had a copyist busy for some 
years transcribing such of these rec- 
ords as pertain to Detroit and the 
matter is far from being exhausted 
yet. The wealth of historical matter 
in these ancient and yellow documents 
is unknown to historians, I believe, 
and I think I am the first person to 
disclose, in part, their value to the 
writers and readers of history. Some 
20 or 30 volumes of these records have 
already been transcribed for my use 
and no item later than the year 1760 
has yet been copied. Dwelling upon 
the quantity and wealth of these old 
papers will scarcely convey an idea of 
their importance, and I can only ex- 
press my appreciation of them by the 
word "invaluable." 

Nearly across the street from the 
Palais de Justice and a block or so 
further to the east, on the southerly 
side of Notre Dame street, is situated 
the Chateau de Ramezay, built for 
Claude de Ramezay in 1704 or 1705. This 
building was of great Interest to me 
and is of so much interest now to the 
people of Montreal that they have 
purchased it and retain It In its orig- 
inal shape as a memorial of old Mont- 
real. 

Shortly after Detroit was founded 
Cadillac got into a quarrel with the 
Company of the Colony of Canada rel- 
ative to the right to the trade of the 
new post and. In consequence of the 
quarrel, he was summoned to Mont- 
real, where he was detained — not ex- 
actly placed under arrest, but com- 
pelled to remain within the limits of 
the city pending the hearing of the 
charges preferred against him. At this 
time Claude de Ramezay was the gov- 
ernor of Montreal, and, in that capac- 
ity, Cadillac was subject to his orders 
and to a certain extent he was in his 
custody. Ramezay proved himself in 
many ways to be the friend of his 
prisoner, giving him personal liberty 
there and assisting him in his appeal 
to the authorities at Quebec and in 
France. Probably he was entertained 
by Ramezay at this chateau, for at 
this time the building was just com- 
pleted or In process of erection. 

Historic Old Castle. 

The building Itself is a marvel of 
solid masonry, so substantial that the 




CHATEAU DB RAMEZAY. MONTREAL, WHERE CADILLAC WAS EN- 
TERTAINED IN 1704. 



winters of 200 years have disclosed no 
faults in its construction. I cannot 
adequately describe its massive walls 
of stone, its great fireplace in the 
basement or cuisine, its vaulted wine 
cellar which seems like a dungeon of 
some old castle. The building is two 
stories in height besides the cellar and 
basement, and the rooms are large. 
Here for more than a century assem- 
bled the great men of the nation on 
important occasions. The successive 
governors met the Indian chiefs on 
their visits to the city, receiving them 
in the great reception room of the 
chateau. Here in this council room 
sat many of the noted men of the 
last century— Ramezay, Vaudreuil, 
Cadillac, Gen. Amherst, Gen. Gage, 
Sir Guy Carleton (afterward Lord 
Dorchester), Benjamin Franklin, 
Charles Carroll (survivor of the sign- 
ers of the declaration of independence), 
Benedict Arnold, the traitor, and many 
others. 

In February, 1776, congress appoint- 
ed three commissioners, Benjamin 
Franklin, Charles Carroll and Samuel 
Chase, to go to Canada to see if they 



could not enlist the Canadians in the 
American cause in the war then pend- 
ing with England. Rev. John Carroll, 
afterward archbishop of Baltimore, 
accompanied the expedition. On their 
arrival at Montreal they were met by 
Gen. Benedict Arnold. One of the com- 
missioners, Charles Carroll, on the oc- 
casion wrote: 

"We supped at that general's and 
after supper were conducted to our 
lodgings— the house of Thomas Walk- 
er—the best built and perhaps the best 
furnished in this town." 

The "house of Thomas Walker" was 
at the west end of the Chateau de 
Ramezay, and here they remained un- 
til their return to the states. Dr. 
Franklin, who was old (70 years of 
age) and infirm, remained but a few 
days and set out on the 11th of May 
on his return. Rev. John Carroll 
started with him. 

It is related that while Franklin was 

stopping in Montreal the first printing 

press there was set up in the basement 

of the chateau under his directions, by 

Joseph Fleury Mesplet, who came to 



Montreal with the commissioners. This 
may have been a fact, for it is certain 
that at about this time the first press 
was brought to Montreal, but the lim- 
ited time of Franklin's visit would not 
permit him to give Mesplot many les- 
sons In printing. However, the first 
newspaper there, the Gazette du Com- 
merce et Litteraire, pour la Ville et 
District de Montreal, was published by 
Charles P. Mesplet and C. Berger on 
June 3 in the following year. 

Q.nebeo in Cadillac's Time. 

Quebec, the next place of import- 
ance that attracts our attention, is 
more like the ancient French cities 
than is Montreal. Not only do its nar- 
row streets indicate its age, but Its 
very people seem to live in last cen- 
tury. In an estimated population of 
75,000 I understand that only 5,000 are 
Protestants and only the latter num- 
ber speak the English language. Many 
of the French people are able to speak 
both languages, but this knowledge is 
confined to merchants and clerks and 
those carrying on a business that 
brings them into contact with both 
nationalities. 

The streets are exceedingly narrow 
in the lower town — the older part. 
Nearly all of the buildings here were 
destroyed or seriously injured by the 
bombardment of Gen. Wolfe in 1759, 
but they were reconstructed on their 
old foundations and the streets were 
neither straightened nor widened. The 
electric cars, recently introduced, 
nearly monopolize many of the streets, 
for there was scarcely room for two 
vehicles to pass, before, and the new 
car line is placed in the center of the 
street, so now the car must wait for 
teams to move along to the next cross- 
ing before it can proceed. 

Some of the streets are so narrow 
that only one team can pass at a 
time — 10 to 12 feet in width— and here 
are huddled a multitude of women and 
children, living in apartments over the 
stores they own. The street is not 
wide enough for a walk beside the 
dri^ eway and the people must neces- 
sarily go into the street to walk. 

This is the city of Quebec, as it was 
in Cadillac's time, for here his wife 
lived with her father, Denys Guyon, 
and her brothers, after the father's 
death, in a stone house on St. Pierre 



stiect in Lower Town. In this town 
Cadillac and Marie Therese Guyon 
were married on the 25th of June, 1687, 
and here they lived for some time 
then, and at a later date. 

Cadillac was in the marine depart- 
ment and was stationed on the hill 
that overlooks the city, probably the 
present site of the Chateau Frontenac, 
or possibly even further up at the 
citadel. When the evening came and 
he was released from his duties he, 
with others, was accustomed to wan- 
der down the long winding roadway 
of the hill reaching to Lower Town to 
visit the places of amusement, or pos- 
sibly the 16-year-old girl who became 
Madam Cadillac in 1687. 

An episode in the life of the founder 
is related in the unpublished records 
of that time as follows: 

Detroit's Founder in a Brawl. 

On Thursday, May 2, 1686. Cadillac, 
then a lieutenant of the company of 
Sieur de Vallereinies, got into a quar- 
rel with Sieur de Sabrevoye, sub-lieu- 
tenant of the Company of Desquerac 
at the house of the widow of Pierre 
Pellerin, Sieur de St. Amant, on St. 
Pierre street, in Lower Town, where 
Cadillac had called early in the even- 
ing and had been invited to have a 
glass with the assembly. 

The quarrel arose over some reflec- 
tions of Cadillac regarding the habits 
of Sabrevoye, and on the fact that 
Sabrevoye was supported by the Mar- 
quis Denonville, governor and lieu- 
tenant-general for the king. In the 
melee Cadillac threatened to thrash 
Sabrevoye; both men attempted to 
draw their swords, but the bystanders 
threw themselves between them and 
prevented the duel, whereupon Cadil- 
lac took up the copper candlestick, 
which was on the table, and threw it 
at the head of Sabrevoye, wounding ■ 
him and extinguishing the light. La- 
Perelle, a sub-lieutenant, and Sieur 
Declavaux, who were present, ejected 
Cadillac from the house. 

Cadillac was very much frightened 
for if news of the event came to the 
ears of the marquis it would probably 
end in his ruin. He was summoned 
before the recorder of the marshal's 
court. A great amount of testimony 
was taken in the case and all reduced 
to writing and is still preserved. The 



governor went from house to house 
summoning the witnesses before him 
and himself questioned each one re- 
garding the quarrel, its origin, prog- 
ress and result. Sabrevoye's wound 
was not serious and the affair was 
patched up and Cadillac was released. 
^A'hen Cadillac was commandant at 
Detroit, some years later, Sabrevoye 
came here to live and remained for 
seme years. 

In a little square, nearly under the 
Chateau Frontenac, the grand hotel 
of Quebec, stands a small church call- 
ed Notre Dame des Victoires. This 
was first erected in 1688, but has since 
been reconstructed and is now of a 
modern form, but is still on its ancient 
foundation. 

Cadillac was not married in this 
church, for it was erected the year 
succeeding his marriage, but probably 
within its doors some of his children 
were baptized, for his son Antoine was 
born in Quebec in 1692. James was 
born there in 1695. Peter Denis was 
born there June 13, 1699, and was bur- 
ied there July 4, 1700. Marie Ann 
was born in Quebec, June 7, and died 
June 9, 1701, and Rene Louis, who was 
born in Detroit, died in Quebec in 1714, 
so that around this church some of the 
most interesting events in the life of 
Cadillac are clustered. 

Concerning this church Phileas Gag- 
non, probably the best historical au- 
thority in Quebec, recently wrote to 
me: "The church of Notre Dame de la 
Victoire is and has been the only 
church built in the lower town of this 
city. It stands on what was called In 

1687 'Place Royal,' on account of a 
bronze bust of Douis XIV., erected 
there that year by Bochart Cham- 
pigny. This church was erected In 

1688 but it was not called Notre Dame 
de la Victoire until 1690. In that year 
amid the joy caused by the defeat of 
Sir William Phipps, in his attempt to 
capture the town of Quebec, the feast 
of Notre Dame de la Victoire was es- 
tablished, to be annually celebrated in 
this church on the 7th of October— 
that being the day on which the first 
intelligence of the coming of the Eng- 
lish was received. After the shipwreck 
of the English fleet in 1711, which was 
considered by the inhabitants as a sec- 



ond victory, and little less than a mi- 
raculous interposition in their favor, 
the church received the name of Notre 
Dame des Victoires, in order to com- 
memorate both occasions at the same 
time." 

Within the present church, on the 
wall facing the pulpit is a marble slab 
with an inscription to indicate the 
principal events in the history of the 
church, as follows: 
1688 lei Mai. Pose de la 1 ere 
Dierre par le Marquis 
de Denonville gouverneur 
Innocent XI Pape 
Louis XIV Roi de France 
L'Egrlise est dediee a 
I'enfant Jesus. 

1690 Defait de I'armee Phipps 
reglise prend le titre de N. D. 
de la Victoire 
1711 Dispersion de la flotte de 
I'armee Walker, I'eglise 
prend le titre de N. D. des Victoires 
1759 Incendise pendant le siege 
1765 Rebatie 
1888 Restoree a 1' occasion 
du 2€ine centaire 

Across the street from this church is 
the Hotel Blanchard, which, I was in- 
formed, is built on the site of a con- 
vent which was established in the 
seventeenth century. In this convent 
Madam Cadillac placed her eldest 
daughter Magdelaine, when she set out 
for Detroit in the summer of 1701. 

Cadillac had reached the site of De- 
troit and laid the foundation for the 
new post on the 24th day of July, 1701. 
He brought with him his eldest son, 
Antoine, then a youth of some 9 years 
of age. His living children at this 
time, besides his son Antoine, were his 
eldest daughter, Magdelaine, and his 
son Jacques. Two other children, 
Pierre Denis and Marie Anne, had died 
in Quebec. The latter, Marie Anne, 
died after her father had left that 
city to go west. 

Fr. Anjabran (or Enjabran), a Jesuit 
priest, and I believe the only Jesuit 
who was friendly to Cadillac, was re- 
quested to escort Madam Cadillac and 
Madam Tonty, wife of Cadillac's lieu- 
tenant, Alphonse Tonty, to Detroit, 
but he found it impossible to comply 
with the request, However, through 



his report we are enabled to determine 
that Madam Cadillac, leaving her 
daughter Magdelaine in the convent 
above mentioned, started from Quebec 
with her son Jacques, then 6 years of 
age, and reached Three Rivers, 
about half way between Quebec and 
Montreal, on the 30th of August, 1701. 
On the 10th of September they reach- 
ed and departed from Montreal, and 
arrived at Port Frontenac (now Kings- 
ton) on the 23d of September. The 
lateness of the season prevented fur- 



ther progress of the party, for there 
was no stopping place between Fort 
Frontenac and Detroit, so the party 
remained at the fort during the win- 
ter months and resumed their journey 
as early as possible and reached De- 
troit in the early spring of 1702. 

In the archives of the French ca- 
thedral is to be found the register in 
use at the time of Cadillac's marriage, 
and I have had the marriage record 
photographed and reproduce it here 
as of general interest to all our people: 



^««»" 



dn^HC^ ^irj ^^^^.. ^^^ /^yr.,~e^ ^:9>«..^-^ ^^<.. 









/fci-y^Xi/^ tri. yti/~r4'ft^^- fit^ ^tO-^ r t»e / yi„U^/> ^^■ 









^/ /*7 /**v^«'^=>"'' .''^i»*'/'«i- ^-fft^i^/ -^K-v^^y*;^"^ 



?^^^/ 



jr'^"-y 



fZ^^^^/if-^. tffyt-yy^ 





—/h^^7^t^<^^ 






COPY OF CADILLAC'S MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE FOUND IN CANA- 
DIAN ARCHIVES. 



(TRANSLATION.) 
The 25th of the monih of June, in the 
year 16S7, after the betrothment and the 
publication of two bans of marriage, hav- 
ing obtained dispensation of the third of 
Monsieur de Bernieres, vicar-general cf the 
Lord Bishop of Quebec, the flrst being pub- 
lished the 22d and the second the 24th of 
the present month, between Antoine de La- 
mothe, esquire, sieur de Cadillac of the 
village of Port Royal in Acadia, aged about 
26 years, son of Mr. Jean de la Mothe, 
sieur of the place called Cadillac of Launay 
and Semontel, counsellor of the parliament 
of Toulouse, and of Madam Jeanne de 
Malenfant, his father and mother, of the 
one part; and of Marie Thereze Guyon, 
daughter of the deceased Denis Guyon, a 
citizen of this place, and Elizabeth Bou- 
cher, her father and mother, of ihe other 
part, aged about 17 years, and not finding 
any hindrance, I, Francois Dupre, cure of 
this parish, have solemnly married and 
given the nuptial benediction in the pres- 
ence of the subscribing witnesses, sieurs 
Barthelemi Desmarest, Michel Denys Guy- 
on, Jacques Guyon, Denys le Maitre, who 
have signed with the husband and wife. 

LAMOTHE LAUNAY. 

MARIE THERESE GUYON. 

JACQUES GUION. 

MICHEL GUION. 

DENIS LE MAITRE. 
DEMAREST. 
FRANCOIS DUPRE. 

The above named priest, Francois 
Dupre, came to Canada May 28, 1673. 
In 1675 he was a missionary in the 
Quebec seminary; first cure of the 
parish of Champlain in 16S4, and cure 
of the parish of Quebec from 1686 till 
1707. In 1711 he was at Lorette, where 
he died and was buried under the al- 
tar June 29, 1720. 

I could not ascertain the house on 
St. Pierre street in which Cadillac ana 
his wife lived while in Quebec, but 
a further investigation of the titles to 
lots in the lower town may give me 
its location. 

Outward bound from Quebec on an 
ocean steamer I passed through the 
River St. Lawrence, past the falls of 
Montmorency and down the gulf, hug- 
ging the southern shore, which is dot- 
ted with the little hamlets of fisher- 
men, whose ancestors took up this oc- 
cupation centuries ago and whose de- 
scendants will probably continue it for 
centuries to come. The scenery along 



this coast is grand, and beyond the 
power of my pen to adequately de- 
scribe. 

After a few days' sail I reached 
Charlottetown, in Prince Edward 
Island, and now began to feel that I 
was in America, for here everyone 
speaks English, and French is appar- 
ently unknown. From Charlottetown 
a ride of a few hours on a great ferry 
steamer takes us to Pictou in Nova 
Scotia. 

Pictou is a small place and can be 
fitly described as "over-ripe," for it 
has reached the zenith of its prosperity 
and is sinking to decay. From Pictou 
the railroad carried me south across 
the isthmus to Halifax. The country 
is beautiful, but as this portion was 
unknown to the French or uninhabited 
by them I did not take so great an 
interest in either Charlottetown, Pic- 
tou or Halifax. 

After a short stay in Halifax I again 
took the train across the isthmus in a 
northwesterly direction to Annapolis 
Royal. This Is the land of Evangeline. 
Longfellow has appropriately de- 
scribed this country: 
This is the forest primeval, the murmuring 

pines and the hemlocks. 
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, 

indistinct in the twilight, 
Stand like Druids of Eld, with voices sad 

and prophetic, 
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that 

rest on their bosoms. 
I never saw a country, on the 1st of 
September, so green and pretty as this 
country is. In the states the verdure 
is burned and yellow from the hot days 
of July and August, but here the trees 
and shrubs and grass are as green and 
fresh as if the winter snows had but 
recently melted and the April showers 
had given fresh life and vigor to all 
nature. 

On through Grand Pre and along the 
shores of the basin of MInas, where 
Evangeline and her lover lived, skirt- 
ing the waters of the bay, through 
beautiful and quiet scenery, our train 
of some 20 cars, heavily laden with 
passengers, draws up at Annapolis, 
the end of its journey. A great excur- 
sion of country folks on the Intercolo- 
nial line were returning from a day 
spent in Halifax and the cars were 



crowded with passengers and filled 
with the merry laughter of the young 
folics. 

Nova Scotia was originally covered 
with evergreens, pine, hemlock, juni- 
per, cedar and spruce trees. On the 
cultivated portions these evergreens 
have been cleared off except an occa- 
sional tree or shrub, but there are 
thousands of acres on which the origi- 
nal forests are still standing as green 
as on the day Champlain first visited 
the country. The picture that Long- 
fellow draws of Evangeline's home is 
perfect, except that the pine trees and 
other timber seem to be of a dwarf 
variety and not the stately pines of 
Michigan. 

It is but a short distance from Grand 

Pre to Annapolis and the country is of 

that same beautiful green that one 

sees everywhere in Nova Scotia. 

Historic Old Port Royal. 

Annapolis was my destination and a 
longer stop than usual was made at 
this poin*, for it was full of interest 
to me of a period that antedates Evan- 
geline by half a century. It was called 
Port Royal by the French and was the 
m.ost important of their early settle- 
ments in America, for it was occupied 
by them as early as 1605. The posses- 
sion of the place passed from Prance 
to England and was again returned 
to France several times before its final 
cession to England in 1718. 

A fort was e.'ected in 1605, which was 
probably enlarged and improved as 
time passed on. This fort is still in 
existence, or rather the earthwork.s 
and some of the stone buildings still 
remain, though it is no longer used for 
military purposes. The fort grounds 
cover some 30 acres of land and the 
earthworks cover a goodly portion of 
that ground. The embankments are 
s'till nearly intact, and show that an 
immense amount of work was done to 
carry the dirt that forms these grreat 
earthworks, for the French had no 
horses or caittle with which to do this 
work, and the earth was carried from 
a distance on the backs of Indian wo- 
m.en. The great piles of earth show 
that this was the work of years. The 
sand in one place, at a comer of the 
fort, threatened to slide in and thus 
destroy the corner, and a stone wall 
was created to hold it in place. The 



wall remains as it was built, without 
mortar; insld'e this wall and close 
against it are two huge willows, brought 
from France, of a specie not found in 
America. These willows are now at 
least four feet in diameter, showing 
that they must have been set ouit here 
250 years ago. At the northwest cor- 
ner of the fort, and on the interior, 
is what is locally termed the "Black 
Hole." It Is supposed that it was in- 
tended as a prison for refractory sol- 
diers or Indians. It is not large enough 
to hold more than a dozen or 20 people 
at once, and it is more likely that it 
was intended as a small powder maga- 
ine, or else to hold the arms of the sol- 
diers. On the western side anxi about 
m.idway down the curtain is the sally 
port. This looks towrard Annapolis 
basin. The m.asonry is as old as the 
earthworks, and seems likely to be 
able to withstand the ravages of time 
for many centuries. 

Q,neer PoTvder Mag-a^ine. 

The most interestmg object in the fort 
is the powder magazine in the south- 
west corner. This magazine is 15 by 20 
feet on the interior and 30 by 36 feet 
on the exterior— showing that the walls 
are 6 to 7% feet in thickness. 

The building is constructed of a specie 
of limestone brought from Normandy 
and is unlike any stone found in this 
part of the country. The masonry is 
exceedingly substantial and the mor- 
tar in which the stone was laid 250 
years ago shows no sign of breaking 
in the interior. The arched roof is 
made without the aid of a keystone, 
and the cement is so strong that the 
necessity of one was not felt. Witb a 
fort as substantial as this was and 
an adequate supply of men and mu- 
nitions of war the French could have 
withstood an army of Englishmen. 

Behind the fort, and to the souith of 
it. were clustered the dwellings of the 
people of Port Royal, a small village, 
for although there were some 500 or 600 
people in the settlement around the 
fort, they were scattered over ithe sur- 
rounding farming lands for many miles. 
The country had been so long occu- 
pied by them that they had no fear of 
the Indians, and they thought they 
were prepured for incursions from the 
English. 



Annapolis basin is a long bay set- 
ting in from the Bay of Fundy, some 
20 or 25 miles, and it is at the eastern 
extremity of this basin that the fort 
was erected. The entrance from the 
bay to the basin is much narrower 
than the basin is after that point is 
passed. Midway along the basin is 
Goat island. The water in the basin 
is of sufficient depth to float the larg- 
est vessels, for the tide rises 25 to 30 
feet at the eastern extremity of the 
basin, and the tide in the Bay of 
Fundy, the highest in the world, rises 
over 50 feet. 

CafllUac's Home Bnrned by tbe 
British. 

In 1690 Cadillac lived in Port Royal 
and owned a house In the village there. 
In 1689 war had broken out between 
France and England over the expul- 
sion of King Jajnes II. by England, 
and the harboring of him by Louis 
XIV. of France, and the warfare was 
to be carried on in America, as well as 
In Europe. When this war was de- 
clared Cadillac was residing on Mount 
Desert Island, which he owned, but he 
removed his family to Port Royal, 
probably for better security, and pur- 
chased a dwelling for them behind the 
fort. 

He was probably engaged with the 
urcle of his wife, Francois Guyon, on 
shipboard, looking out for English 
vessels that they might capture or de- 
stroy, and spent but little time with 
his family at the fort. At that time 
the only child that Cadillac had, of 
which we have any record, was Mag- 
delaine, who was born either on Mount 
Desert island or at Port Royal. 

Sir William Phipps, governor of 
Massachusetts, had been Instructed by 
his government to take such part in 
tho war with France as he might be 
able, both to protect the English set- 
tlements in America and to inflict all 
possible injury on the French. With 
this end in view he set out in April, 
1690. to achieve something for the glory 
of England and the discomfiture of 
France. Sailing into Annapolis basin 
In the latter part of May, he took the 
place by surprise, and it was obliged 
to surrender to him without offering 
any resistance. 

While the lives of the citizens were 
spared their houses were plundered 
and some of them, Cadillac's among 



the number, were burned. The parish 
church was destroyed and the priests, 
Petit and Trouve, with some 38 sol- 
diers were carried prisoners to Bos- 
ton. 

Cadillac's family, burned out, started 
to return to Quebec, were taken pris- 
oners by the English, but were re- 
leased as nan-combatants, and proceed- 
ed home. Mount Desert island, which 
belonged to Cadillac, and on which he 
resided in 1689, is on the coast of 
Maine; Cadillac's possessions not only 
ir eluded this island, but several thou- 
sand acres of the adjacent mainland, 
including the modern Bar Harbor. 

I have been unable to ascertain why 
this valuable and extensive tract was 
given to Cadillac, for he had not ac- 
complished much at this time to war- 
rant the government in making the 
gift. It Is possible that his work on 
the ocean was better known than the 
records seem to indicate now, and that 
this land was given in compensation 
for that work. 

He was familiar with the entire coast 
line and one of the earliest French 
maps of Boston, as well as one of the 
earliest maps of New York, both made 
by Franquelin, bear the mark of ap- 
proval of Cadillac. At a later period 
and during the war he accompanied 
an expedition to New York, or Man- 
athe, as he calls it, intending to attack 
that place by water; but the plan 
failed for want of concert between the 
land and naval forces. 

Jealousy of tbe French. 

While my visit to Boston and Cam- 
bridge, with their great libraries so 
full of historical matters of those early 
days, and the great Lenox. Astor and 
Tilden libraries of New York, were 
of exceeding interest to me in these 
studies, the memory and name of Cad- 
illac is to be found only in the old 
records. Nothing remains now as it 
was in his day. 

A trip up the Hudson is beautiful 
and interesting, but far more interest- 
ing to me were two old documents I 
found in archives in the great state 
capitol at Albany. As preliminary to 
the introduction of these papers I 
would state that shortly after Cadillac 
reached the site of Detroit the Eng- 
lish, at a treaty meeting with the Iro- 




OLD POWDER MAGAZIMF, AT ANNAPOLIS. 



quois Indians, obtained from these In- 
dians a deed of all the land in the 
west as far as Chicago, and including 
the present Detroit. This deed has 
been printed several times and can be 
found in extenso in volume 4. page 908, 
of the "New York Colonial Manu- 
scripts." It is dated July 19, 1701, but 
the difference in computation of time 
between protestant and catholic coun- 
tries makes this, in the French calen- 
dar, July 29, or four days after Cadil- 
lac arrived at Detroit. In this deed 
Detroit is called Tjeughsaghrondie 
(this name can be spelled some 70 dif- 
ferent ways), and Lake Brie is called 
Swege. 

The proposed erection of the fort at 
Detroit was evidently known to the 
Iroquois some time before Cadillac se- 
lected its site, and both the Indians 
south of the great lakes and the Eng- 
lish were excited over it and proposed 
to stop it if possible. It was at this 
time and in this situation of affairs 
that the two documents I have found 
were written, and they fully explain 
themselves. 

Robert Livingston was secretary of 
Indian affairs and John Nanfan was 
lieutenant-governor. 



The papers have, I believe, never 
been printed, and I give them in full: 
Report of Laurence Clease 
ye interpreter come from 
Onnandago ye 10th. of Octob 
1701 in Albany. 
Pursuant to the instructions 
given me the 5th. instant I went to 
Onnandago where 1 found ye Sa- 
chims of ye Sinnekes. Cayugas 
and Onnandagos convind, who 
had bolts sent them from ye Magruasa 
and Oneydes, they asked me if Quidor 
was come according to their desire, I 
told them no, and that he had great 
inclination to come but ye season of 
ye year would not admitt it, there 
being dayly much rain and cold 
weather to be expected. 
Then they asked me if ye 
Secretary. Mr. Livingston, was gon 
to England according to their ear- 
nest request made in ye publike 
propositions when they were Last at 
Albany to acquaint the King how 
ye French incroached upon their 
Country for they had not only made 
a fort at TJughsaghronie, but 
have, since ye Sachims were last 
at Albany, made two trading 
houses on this side of ye Lake hard 
by ye Sinnekes at ye two principall 
Places where our Indians must pass 
by. when they come from hunting, 
and have brought thither all sorts 
Of Indian goods, one of ye Places 



Is called Dekana Sachtlago. and 
the other Tenchjuchjago, we 
fear if the Secretary does not 
goe who knows all our affairs 
that Letters will not be regarded 
and then we shall Loose our 
country and our hunting and those 
of Albany will Loose their Trade 
for we see ye french are a diligent 
People— always in action but ye 
People of Albany are as if they 
were Lame or Criple, goe no 
where to Trade to no Indians 
The French are passed by to ye Fort 
which they have made this Summer 
and have a french woman in each 
Canoe, but, we see not that Corlair 
does any thing. 
I answered that ye Secretary 
■was gone, upon which they 
said, are the leters gone, I told ym 
I did not know. 
I told them further yt 
I was come upon their message which 
they sent to Albany, concerning 
their Resolution to send Agents 
to make Peace with ye Davaganhads 
and other farr Indians at Tjugh- 
Saehrondie and yt I had a great 
bolt from Corcair to send wil ym 
to confirm ye Peace and to assure 
ye farr Indians that they should 
be welcome to come to Albany and 
well Treated where they would find 
Koods cheaper than at Canada 
The Sachims were well 
satisfied and took ye bolt sent 
bv Corlair, and said they had not 
only concluded to make Peace with ye 
farr Indians, at Tjughsaghrondie (ac 
cording to their desire signified to ym 
bv a Sinneka Prisoner whom they had 
released and sent to ye 5 nations for yt 
purpose) but have sent ye Prisoners 
of ye farr Indians away before with 
some Indians to acquaint ye Dowagan- 
haes that they were a Comoing to 
make peace with them at Tjughsagh- 
rondie, in which Peace our Brother Corlair 
shall be Included, and we will make one ar- 
ticle that they come and trade at Albany 
for which the Path shall be open and clean. 
Concerning ye bad news that the 
messenger said was at Onnandago the 
matter is this, a rumour is spread among 

the 
Indians that DeScannisson, and another 

when 
he was Last at N. Yorke should betray the 
five nations to ye governour of N. Yorke to 
be Destroyd and that he should have done 



ye same to ye governour of Canada, giving 
a Bolt to each governour and that this 
story should come from Kendrik ye Ma- 

guass 
who should have said it to Aqueenders and 
ye DeKanissord has sent a post to the 
Governour of Canada to free himself of this 
imputation. 

When I came back I asked Ken- 
drik ye Indian and Aqueenders but they 
know nothing of ye matter, being a notorius 
lye, however It hath made a great stirr 
among ye Indians in this country 
I found ye Indians at Onnan- 
dago very much divided in two 
factions, ye one for ye Fnglish 
the other ye French, but I 
believe those that are for 
for this government are ye 
strongest and those Sachims 
that are of our side desire 
me that I would tell Corlair 
and Quinder yt it was their desire 
yt a messenger be sent to Canada 
to forbidd the Governour of yt 
Place to make such trading house 
on their Ground for those trading 
houses would be soon converted 
Into Forts. 

LAURENCE CLEASE. 

Another Note of Alarm. 

To the Hon. John Nanfan Esq. 

Lieut. Gov. and Commander in Chief 

of ve Province of N. Yorke &c. 
The humble Memoriall of Rt. Livingston 

Sec for yr Indian Affairs showeth 

How that he has been lately at Albany to 
Enquir 

into ye state of ye Indians of ye five na- 
tions who 

he finds by ye interpreter lately come from 
them 

that they are very much divided among 
themselves by 

a french faction among them as by ye said 

Interpreter's report under his hand ap- 
pears. 

That ye French of Canada have not only 
built a new fort 

this summer at Tjughsaghrondie between 
ye lake 

of Sweege and Ottowawa the principall 
nlace 

of Bever hunting, but have lately built 
two trading houses 

on this side of ye lake near ye Sinnekes 
and 

stored them with all sorts of Indian goods. 
He doth 

therefore offer it as his opinion for the 
expelling of french 



^rom his Majst territories and preventing 

of the like 
Incroachments for the future that a party 

of men be sent 
forthwith to destroy ye said Trading 

Houses save the 
Koods and distribute them among the In- 
dians and discharge 
ye French from settling on this side of 

ve lake 
That Lawrence ye Interpreter be sent with 

some of 
or such as your honr. Shal think fitt as far 
as Tjughsaghrondie out a hunting with 

some of 
our Indians to make a discovery of what 

the French 
are a doing, what fort they have made, 

what 
treaties they have agreed to with ye farr 
Indians, havn our Indians conclude their 

ceace with 
ye said far Indians and on what terms, 

and withal to 
endevor to bring some of ye farr Indians to 
Albany to trade, » • * 

October 20, 1701. 

ROBT. LIVINGSTON. 



Thus I completed my first, but I sin- 
cerely hope not my last, journey in the 
footsteps of Cadillac. 

C. M. BURTON. 
September, 1898. 



LANDING OP CADILLAC. 



Historic Event That Might Be 
Commemorated. 

Among the many suggestions for the 
proposed bicentenary of the founding 
of Detroit, little has been advanced 
that might be considered ijersonal to 
the illustrious Frenchman, who with 
his band of hardy adventurers on the 
23d day of July, 1701, landed where 
the city of Detroit now stands. 

In Robert B. Ross's work, "The 
Landmarks of Wayne County and De- 
troit," the first chapter is devoted ex- 
clusively to a graphic pen picture of 
this historical incident. A brief re- 
sume of the chapter may prove sug- 
gestive to the committee in charge of 
the program of exercises. 

On June 5, 1701, the Cadillac expe- 
dition started from La Chine, above 
Montreal, and entered the Ottawa 
river. They threaded the windings of 
that stream for over 300 leagues, mak- 



ing 30 portages,. The remainder of 
the route was down French river to 
Lake Huron. The party crossed the 
lake and landed where Gonsolus Du- 
luth had in 1687 built a fort, burned by 
the Indians two years later. They 
passed down St. Clair river and lake, 
and entered the Detroit river late in 
the afternoon, having accomplished a 
voyage of over 1,000 miles In 40 days. 

The expedition was a ponderous one 
for those days. There were 25 large 
canoes, or bateaux, in which were 100 
white men. These boats were 26 feet 
long by 6 feet beam, having each two 
tons burden. One hundred Algonquin 
warriors in birchbark canoes, consti- 
tuted the escort to the white voyag- 
ers. Silently they rounded the head of 
Belle Isle and glided down the river. 
No notice was given of their approach. 
They were entering upon the choice 
hunting grounds of the cruel and 
tieacherous Iroquois. 

Cadillac, with an eye to the future, 
was looking for a site on which to 
establish a fort and trading post. Half 
of the men he had with him were sol- 
diers, while the rest were farmers and 
mechanics. The view and situation 
of Belle Isle decided Cadillac. It re- 
minded him of Isle Royal, where Paris 
was first built. 

The evening meal was prepared and, 
after religious exercises by two priests, 
the weary travelers, without molesta- 
tion, sought the needed repose. The 
following morning, after early mass, 
Cadillac raised the white banner with 
its three lilies, and in the name of 
Lcuis XIV. proclaimed the land a 
French possession. Among the first 
buildings erected was the rustic 
church, dedicated to Ste. Anne. 

V.hile Cadillac and his brave band 
had been threading the windings of 
the Ottawa, the Iroquois chiefs, 
knowing the purpose of his voyage, 
had held a council with the British 
authorities in New York, the result 
of which was the ceding and convey- 
ing to William III. of England all 
their right and title to lands in the 
northwest, including the straits of De- 
troit. They had previously protested 
to Cadillac against the establishing of 
a fort at Detroit, but he had replied 
that all that territory belonged to 
the French king, his master. Incensed, 
they made terms with the English. 



As a matter of fact, the Iroquois 
chiefs had signed the conveyances to 
the British governor just five days be- 
fore Cadillac landed at Detroit. 

At first the Intention was to found 
the post on Grosse Isle, but, turning 
their boats up stream again, the party 
landed near where the first French 
fort was built. 

Ceuld not this great episode in the 



history of Detroit be made a promi- 
nent feature of the coming bicenten- 
ary? What a pageant could be given 
on the river, with a reproduction of 
the fleet of Cadillac, bateaux, canoes, 
soldiers, habitants, Indians, etc. 

J. W. F. M. 




MAR 6 )899 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 571 638 n # 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 571 638 A 



